Facing the Devil
by RaiLei
Summary: When Tsukasa finally manages to log out of the game, she has to deal with coming face to face with her friends' avatar's real selves and has to face the devil himself: her father... Complete.
1. 01: Return to Reality

_**Facing the Devil**_

"This is Mimiru we're talking about here; she's stubborn when she gets something on her mind." Subaru

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Tsukasa sighed as the automatic doors of the hospital opened, allowing a breeze to rush in through the open door and ruffle through her hair. Clutching her duffle bag closer to her, as if it would vanish at any second, she made her way out of the confines of the hospital and back into the real world that she was trying to escape from. She wasn't surprised that her father hadn't come to visit her in the hospital – he was most likely out drinking again or trying to pick up more girls at the bar – what did surprise her though was that an older male and a teenage girl were looking for her. She figured that it was probably Bear and Mimiru as Bear seemed the type and Mimiru was always talking about going to Shimokita with her once she was able to log out. That must mean that they lived around this district somewhere…

Making her way down the once familiar street, she sighed wondering what she should do now. Bear had talked about taking her in once she managed to log out of the world, but how to contact him? She had no clue what he was like in the real world or even who he was… heck! she might have already past him. The only way to get in contact with those she had met through the World would be to log on again, and yet, she wasn't all that keen on doing that again. Narrowing down her options, she realized that the only place that she had to go was back to her father… which was the reason for her flight into the World in the first place.

What to do, what to do?

Looking up at the sky for some sort of sign or answer, she sighed. There was no way around it, her only option was going back to her father, and maybe someday if she had the guts, to head back into the World. That's when it caught her attention, coming up the street, a clack, clack. The sound of wheels on pavement. Looking down from the sky, she saw it. It was a girl in a wheelchair, pushing her hair out of her eyes, as someone pushed her wheelchair up the street. Stopping on the street pretending to look at something, she looked at the girl in the wheelchair out of the corner of her eye.

She looked familiar somehow. Loosing her grip on her duffle bag, she turned following the wheelchair with her eye. That girl… could it be…?

"Subaru?"

The girl sitting in the wheelchair turned the wheels around to see who had called out her alias. A small frown came to her features as she took in the light brown haired girl staring at her clutching a duffle bag. That face… if you added the Wavemaster garb, it could be.

"Tsukasa?"

The brown haired girl smiled, nodding. "I'm back," She said, dropping her duffle bag to the ground. "I didn't think I'd ever find any of you outside the game…"

The older woman that was holding onto the handles of the wheelchair, hesitantly let go as she saw her daughter reach for the wheels of her chair.

"I'm glad," Subaru said, wheeling herself closer to the feminine Tsukasa. "See, I told you. I'd be waiting for you here so that I could see you one more time."

Tsukasa smiled, rushing forward to the blue haired girl. "I didn't think it possible to meet you all hear in this world – it is quiet large." Tsukasa said, knelling down in front of the wheelchair.

"It's a small world too, and I keep my promises. I kept all my promises to you in 'The World' didn't I?" Subaru smiled, resting a hand on top of Tsukasa's.

"Promises are different there – it isn't the real world…"

Subaru sighed, smiling. "Isn't it reason enough? Not everything's as bad as you make it out to be? Is your life really that hard?" Tsukasa remained silent, suddenly becoming interested in the ground. Subaru smiled lightly, letting out another sigh. "I see, so it is?"

Before Tsukasa could reply, the woman who was wheeling Subaru spoke up. "Mariko, we have to go…"

Both girls looked up at the older woman. "I guess I better let you go then, see you around sometime then." Tsukasa said, pushing herself off of the ground.

Mariko watched as Tsukasa picked herself off the ground and made her way over to get duffle bag that lay forgotten on the ground. "Mom? Can I catch up with you later? This is my friend from 'The World'…"

Her mother nodded. "Make sure that you're home by six then. Nice meeting you." With a wave, Subaru's mother disappeared up the street.

"You didn't have to do that… Mariko." Tsukasa said, the name feeling foreign on her tongue.

Mariko grinned, shaking her head. "It's ok, no big deal. We were just on our way to the grocery store, but I was just going so that I could get out of the house, Tsukasa." Mariko replied, not knowing what her name really was.

Picking up her duffle bag, she grinned looking back at Mariko. "It's An. An Shouji."

"An… it suits you. So anyways, where were you off to?"

An emotion flickered over An's face but was soon replaced by a nonchalant emotion. "That what I was trying to figure out actually. Bear was talking about looking for me in the real world and was talking about taking me in when I was able to finally log out, but… I'm not ready to go back there yet…"

Mariko nodded. "It's understandable."

"The only place left is… my father – which is why I tried to escape to 'The World' in the first place." An added, in an undertone.

However, that didn't seem to escape Mariko's hearing. "I take it that you don't like living with your father?"

An shook her head, as the two headed in the direction that Mariko and her mother had just come from.

"From what Mimiru said, your mother isn't here any more?"

An shook her head again. "She did when I was about four – car accident"

"I see, and your father?"

"He likes to drink, and well, you know. He gets drunk a lot. He usually has some girl come over for the night – and their always a different one, and he never remembers anything the next day and blames it on me."

"That's awful, and that's the only place that you have to return too?"

An nodded. "For the time being, yes," From the look on Mariko gave her, she continued. "Well you see, I think it was a few weeks ago, as I told you Bear said he's take me in, and all I have to do is find him, or him me. He seemed to know who I was outside of the game," An said, staring at something that no one could see. "If I could just get brave enough to log on again and talk to him… but she's waiting for me…"

"She?" Mariko looked at her strangely, wondering what she was talking about.

"Mother…" An half-whispered.

Mariko stopped in her tracks. _Mother…? But didn't she say her mother died when she was four?_ "Mother? What are you talking about An? You told me she was… you mean that girls' voice in Aura's place?" An nodded, still staring ahead. "I see; she'd probably do you in again for double crossing her." Mariko said, staring into space as well. _Just like she got Sora…_ she thought.

"So, you see my bind, don't you? I can only return to my father…" An said, shrugging slightly.

"Maybe I can help you with that. Does your father know that your not in a coma anymore?" Yet again; An shook her head; no. "Well then, why don't you come home with me? You can stay at my place, we have a spare room. I can probably get in contact with Bear, Mimiru and anyone else you can think of as well."

"That sounds good… but would your parents mind? I don't want to be a burden to you guys…"

Mariko shook her head, smiling. "They won't mind, they'd probably think that it was nice that I'd have someone over."

"OK, then, you got it Mariko!" An smiled, slinging her duffle bag higher on her shoulder.

The way to Mariko's house was silent as the two were wrapped up in their own thoughts about the game, real life, and in An's case; how the world wasn't as cold as her father and classmates had made it seem like.

After a few blocks of silence between the two, Mariko slowed down, coming to a stop in front of a five story apartment building. "We're here." She beamed.

"You live here?" An asked, looking up at the four storey apartment building.

Mariko nodded, looking up at An strangely. "It's not a castle or anything, but its home."

"That's not what I mean," An muttered, shaking her head. "You see that apartment building over there?" An said, pointing to a building a couple blocks away hidden behind some of the other large apartments in the area. "That's where I used to live; third floor."

"See I told you; it's a small world." Mariko laughed, casting her a glance as she wheeled her way up the path to the complex's doors.

"Maybe; maybe you're right."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Dad, you home?" Mariko called, as the front door to their apartment swung open.

"Mariko, that you? I thought you were going grocery shopping with your mother? There's no way you guys could be finished that fast." Her fathers' voice laughed, coming around the corner with a newspaper in hand. "Hello there. Who's this?"

"Oh this is my friend An Shoiji. I met her in "The World". Can she stay over for a while?"

Her father nodded. "Yeah sure, I don't see why not. What about your parents though?"

"Vacation." An shrugged.

Mariko looked back and forth in the silence between her father and An, before clapping her hands together to break the silence. "Alright then, we'll be in my room, dad, C'mon An, I got to show you something."

An nodded, waving at Mariko's father before she disappeared down the hallway after Mariko.

"So this is your bedroom," Mariko said, gesturing to a closed white door. "It's our spare room, but until we get in contact with Bear and the others it can be yours. Sorry for the plainness of it, we don't use it a lot. It's right beside my bedroom, so you can come and get me anytime." Mariko grinned, wheeling herself over to the next white door, a wooden nameplate hanging on it.

An nodded, following Mariko into her bedroom, which was painted a light blue, similar to her outfit within The World. "So what sort of things to we have to look at?" An asked, remembering what Mariko had told her father as she flopped down on Mariko's bed.

Mariko turned to look at An, stopping at her computer. "The World." She said, grabbing her headset from the desk.

An paled at the name of the game. "But… I'm not ready to go back there… she's still looking for me. She'll be so angry… so angry…" She trailed off; remembering the trap Morganna had locked her in six months earlier.

Mariko nodded, turning her computer on. "I understand. I'll go then, I was going to contact Bear and Mimiru for you, so we could set up a date to meet them here in this world. Anyone else you want me to contact?"

"What about Crim and the others? You know; BT, Silver Knight and Sora."

"I can contact them all except Sora. I guess it happened soon after you logged out… but you know how Sora stayed behind when we found Aura? She got him, like she got you, except she trapped him in the red staff of her new monster; Skeith. It's causing havoc within the world… its worse then before."

"That's horrible! That's even worse then what happened to me."

"I know. Lord Orca of the Azure Sky is also gone, unconscious, just as you were. But we can't locate him on any of the servers, he just vanished. Helba's still trying to help us out, a new group has appeared though; some Twin Blade named Kite and a whole bunch of his friends. Mimiru wasn't too happy though," Mariko grinned, thinking of the outspoken Heavy Blade. "One of the new players is called BlackRose; looks exactly like Mimiru. She thinks that someone is trying to take the fame from us."

An smiled, she could see Mimiru doing that; she was always like that: loud and outspoken. "That sounds like something she'd do. Can you see if they can meet us tonight or tomorrow?" She asked, seeing that the computer had fully loaded up.

Mariko nodded, turning around and slipping the headset on. "Will do, I'll be back in a few."

Gold rings surrounded Subaru as she appeared in front of the Mac Anu's chaos gates. Moving away from the gates, she wondered what server Bear and Mimiru would be on today, if they were even signed on at the moment. They were always on before… but that was when Tsukasa was still trapped within the game. Not knowing what server the gang would be on, if at all, she figured that the quickest way to get in contact with them was to e-mail them and wait for an answer to come back. And knowing them – especially Mimiru – it wouldn't take to long.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"I can't believe that she took my character design! I had it first, augh! And then Sora! He's gone as well and there off trying to find him, that Orca guy and stop… _her_. Well, we've been doing this longer and they come in and take it all away from us! Bear, how can you just sit there!" Mimiru fumed, seeing her companion just sitting on the rocks of Dun Loireag.

"Their just concerned for their friend that's all, just like we were concerned for Tsukasa."

Mimiru sighed, flopping down onto the ground as well. "Why do you have to be right all the time? Geez."

"Come with growing up, I suppose." Bear shrugged.

"It's just not fair!" Mimiru whined, folding her arms over her chest.

"You just like being known, off on some big adventure."

"I guess you're right…" A ding went off on Mimiru's terminal, making her avatar freeze momentarily.

"What'd you get?" Bear asked; when her avatar started to move again.

"It was a message from Subaru.

"Subaru? What did she say?"

"The message said that she found the real Tsukasa on the outside, and that Tsukasa was a girl – geez, you're always right! – she, er, they want to meet with us tonight or some day soon."

"Hm, so that was Tsukasa. I wonder how the two of them ran into each other…? Subaru must look a lot like her avatar as well. Tonight, huh? Well, as far as I know, I'm open. I have a press conference tomorrow, I won't be around."

Mimiru nodded. "Heh, I don't have any homework this weekend. My curfew's at nine… so, before that."

Bear nodded, a ding going off on his terminal as well, as his avatar momentarily freezing. A few minutes passed before his avatar returned to The World. "I got the same message from Subaru. She wants me to contact BT as well."

"BT as well? How come?" Mimiru whined, looking up at him. "What does she have to do with him anyways? She was the one who wanted to turn him over to the Crimson Knights – and she almost did too!"

Bear sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "That was in the beginning of this whole mess in the first place, besides, she helped us out in the end of things."

Mimiru shrugged, jumping off the ground where she had sat down moments ago. "I sent them back my reply. Did your message say where the meeting was taking place? Mine didn't."

Bear shook his head; no. "It just said the same thing as yours; that they wanted to meet up with us on the outside and to contact BT as well."

"What is we all don't live in the same district or area? This could get really challenging…"

"You said a while back that Tsukasa knew about Shimokita, that means that she, Subaru too most likely, live in that district. I'm guessing you do as well since you used to do a lot of talking about it. I know where BT lives, and both her and Subaru know where Crim is located. So, I think that we all live remotely in the same location.

"Hey!" A voice broke out, as a Heavy Axeman made their way towards the two.

"Hey there!" Mimiru yelled, waving at the newcomer as they made their way up the stairs of Dun Loireag.

"We got your message." Bear said, once Subaru had sat down on the rocks of Dun Loireag.

"That's good. I've contacted Crim and Silver Knight as well and told them that I was over here in the Dun Loireag server. Can you guys get a hold of BT for me?

"Yeah, I'll contact her once I log off here, unless she logs in any time soon." Bear said, nodding.

"That's good. I can't stay long as A – er- Tsukasa's probably is getting bored. Would you be able to come out tonight?"

"I can… but my curfew's at nine."

Subaru nodded. "I understand. How about seven o'clock tonight? We could meet at…"

"How about Shimokita!" Mimiru beamed. "Tsukasa talked about it to me once, well, she said she knew where it was…"

"Sounds fine to me, it's only about ten or so blocks from where I live," Subaru shrugged. "How about you Bear?"

"I know where it is, so I'll be there. I'll inform BT of the plan as well.

"And, I'll tell Silver Knight and Crim, how about the food court as a meeting place?"

"Sounds good, see you there Subaru!"

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Well, what'd they say?" An asked as Mariko took the headset off of her head.

"They agreed to meet at the food court of Shimokita," Mariko said, placing the headset on its hook next to the wall. "Mimiru said that you and her talking about it one time in Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground."

An nodded. "We did, once. I'm surprised that she remembers."

Mariko laughed at this. "This is Mimiru we're talking about here; she's stubborn when she gets something on her mind."

"Good point, so when are we meeting them in Shimokita?"

"Seven o'clock. Bear and Mimiru'll be there, they're going to try and get in touch in BT as well. I've contacted Silver Knight and Crim, Crim's actually here this weekend, so he'll probably be there. Silver Knight, I haven't heard back from him – I left a message on his answering machine – but he's always around. He works in Shimokita at the video rental store. If we don't hear back from him, we can leave earlier and catch him before his shift ends, I guess."

"I see," An said, thinking it over. "What does Crim do then, if he's only here every once and a while?"

"Crim, well, he works for a large company and spends a lot of time traveling on business trips here and there."

"Oh, that reminds me! I should probably phone him and tell him where we're all meeting up. After that, we can do whatever you want to do, just give me one second."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"So, we finally get to meet the real Tsukasa. Wonder what she'll be like? Hey, you want to meet up before we head off to Shimokita for the big unveiling? We could take the Subway there; I don't have a car of my own." Mimiru laughed, elbowing her companion.

Bear nodded. "If she looks anything like the girl from the hospital; she has to be about High School age. The Subway would be fine with me, but we should probably meet up around six o'clock."

"Six! A whole hour earlier?"

"It'll be the supper hour rush. I'm guessing you've never been on the subway at the end of the day rush, have you? What with all the extra stops that'll be made on the way to Shimokita, it would probably take an hour to get there."

"Yeah I guess. But if it's going to be that busy then… why don't we just drive there?"

"The highway will be extremely busy, more then usual as everywhere lets out pretty much in the same time frame, so it'll be backed up as far as you can see."

Mimiru nodded. "What about BT though? Will she come with us on the Subway?"

Bear shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe, maybe not; it depends if you can go or not."

"Has she got a busy job then?"

"Not anymore."

"She got fired?"

"Quit was more like it… but you should ask her about it."

"OK then," Mimiru sighed, staring off in the distance. "So what Subway; how about the one at Shinici and Hokiotada? It goes straight to Shimokita."

"That sounds fine to me, now all we have to do is meet up somewhere. You know that café above the Subway station?" We can met there around six, how about that?"

"Sounds good, old man," Mimiru laughed. "I got to go, mom's calling me."

"See you." Bear said, as the gold rings surrounded Mimiru as she disappeared from the server.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Never knew that time could pass by so slow." A brown haired girl moaned, leaning back in the café's wicker chair, sipping on her cappuccino. Her eyes kept scanning the crowd passing by as she looked for the man from the picture Bear had sent her earlier that day. Looking through the crowd once more, she saw it, well, she thought she did anyways.

"Hey! Over here!" She called, shooting out of her chair, cappuccino in one hand, while she waved her other hand wildly.

The man in question turned and looked around for whoever it was that was calling out at him and upon seeing a brown haired girl waving energetically at someone in the crowd, he made his way over to the hyperactive female. "Mimiru?" He asked, once he got close enough.

"You got it. So, where's BT?" Mimiru asked, looking around the older man for a woman as well.

"Hm? Oh, she said she'd meet us there. She was on that side of town anyways."

Mimiru nodded, pushing the chair back into the table, still clutching her cappuccino. "So, I guess we should get going then, eh?" Bear nodded. "So what am I supposed to call you then? Calling you 'Bear' is going to be too weird."

"Ryo Sakuma."

"You mean that writer guy? My mom loves all your books! Anyways, I'm Emi."

"Alright then Emi, lets get going."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

A/N: **_Part 1 of 3_**  
Man this story turned out longer then I thought that it would! Originally it was supposed to be a one-shot story, but the ideas kept coming, so I decided to split it up into a few parts. Look for the next chapter coming soon!


	2. 02: To Where It Began

_**Facing the Devil**_

"Jealousy? NO! That just makes it creepier, he kept chasing BT around too and she's like what, forty!" Mimiru

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"It's only six thirty, stop pacing." Mariko said, looked at An who was pacing back and forth in front of the assigned meeting spot.

"I know, but, this'll be awkward, won't it…?

"What'll be so awkward about it? We're just meeting up with them."

An shook her head, flopping down on the bench beside Mariko. "It's just that in the Old, Forgotten Castle before we met up with our doppelgangers… Bear said he's take me in. I think he found out who I was in this world."

Mariko nodded. "I can see how that might be a little bit awkward. You better make a good impression then or he'll kick you out!"

"Mari! How could you say that!" An said indignantly.

"Mari?"

"Nickname." An shrugged.

Mariko grinned. "Never been that close to anyone person before…"

"Really?" Mariko nodded. "Is it because of your wheelchair?" Another nod. "If you don't mind me asking you, why are you in a wheelchair? What happened to you?"

"Remember the Pluto Kiss virus in 2005? I'm not sure how, but my doctor said that I got a virus – probably because I was hooked on another online game at the time – and it paralyzed me from the waist down."

An nodded. "That bites. That must be what Crim meant when he said you accessed the world so you could be free. I had no idea what he had meant… I see why he said that you were brave."

"Crim said that?"

"He sure did, I think he likes you."

Mariko blushed, waving the comment aside. "Maybe in The World, but not here, we're too different."

"How so? Is it because of your wheelchair… that's kind of shallow if you ask me."

Mariko shook her head. "No, it's more to deal with age. I'm only fourteen and he's about twenty-eight."

"Really, he's that old? Mimiru will have a field day with that! She thought Silver Knight was old!"

Mariko laughed. "She probably will. That girl will never change."

"No, probably not," An laughed. "Let me guess though, Mimiru picked this place?"

"Yeah she did, she said you guys talked about it one day."

"I knew the day that I accidentally said that, that it'd be trouble."

"She jumped on the chance to meet at Shimokita so fast – what'd you promise her?"

"Not sure… but she kept going on about going shopping."

"Sounds like fun."

"Oh joy, knowing her she can probably shop for hours!"

Mariko grinned. "Well then, I hope you've got your money handy, because here she comes."

"Huh?" An said, spinning around on her heel. "How do you know?"

"Easy, I sent Mimiru a picture of myself and she sent me one of herself."

"Hey Subaru, over here!" A girl called out from the crowd, her hand waving rapidly.

"You didn't give her your real name?"

"I did, she must not have seen it."

The girl in question appeared, out of breath in front of the two teens. "Here there, Subaru, and this must be," Mimiru grinned, immediately latching herself onto the light haired girl. "Tsukasa!"

An grinned as the brunette latched onto her arm, she looked an awful lot like her avatar. "Hey there, Mimiru."

"I knew you knew where Shimokita was – no matter how much you denied it!"

"Well, I'm here now."

"Good! Ohh – and guys, that's Bear." She pointed to an older man standing behind the three teenagers.

"You look familiar…" Mariko said, looking over at the older man. "Oh! You're that writer, Ryo Sakuma, no?"

Bear nodded. "That's me, you got that faster then Emi here."

"You actually got that?" An grinned, elbowing Sakura in the ribs.

"I didn't see you saying anything!" She huffed, looking at An, hands on her hips.

An shrugged it off. "I haven't been reading any books for the past six months."

"So, your real name is Emi, then?" Mariko asked; looking over at Mimiru over the table they had sat down at during their conversation.

Emi nodded. "That's right, and no offense, but what're your names?"

"Mariko Manson."

"An Shouji."

"So, now that we've met, now what?" Emi asked, leaning back in her chair.

"Mariko said Sora got trapped by some monster, any leads on that?" An asked Ryo, a small smirk coming onto her features.

"Not much yet, I think he's no older then seven though, that's the last player who fell unconscious, and that last player was Sora."

"Sora was only seven!" Emi screeched. "I thought he was a teenager, or close to it!"

"Heh, is that jealous I hear, Emi? That the guy chasing you around was only seven?" An smirked.

"Jealousy? NO! That just makes it creepier, he kept chasing BT around too and she's like what, forty!"

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"How do you think it went?" Mariko asked, flopping down onto her bed.

"I think it went pretty well, we spent three hours there!" An laughed, falling back onto the bed too.

"Uhuh, granted most of it was following Emi on her Shimokita shopping spree!"

An laughed. "That girl loves to shop."

"That she does… by the way what were those sheets Ryo gave you?"

"Oh these?" An fished the papers out of her pockets, carefully unfolding them. "They're adoption sheets. I told you about that, right?"

"Yeah at that Old, Forbidden Castle?"

An nodded. "He told me to read over them and sign them if I wanted to."

"I'll leave you too it then," Mariko said, picking herself off the bed and wheeled herself over to her computer. "You know, with all that legal stuff, you'll need time to make sure that you've got it all right."

An nodded, grabbing a pen off Mariko's desk. "Let me know what happens in The World, ok?"

Mariko slipped on the headset. "That, I can do."

As Mariko slipped on the headset vanishing into The World, An looked over the papers lying out on the bedspread, trying to understand all the legal jargon used on the paper. "This might be harder then I thought…"

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"So, are you going to sign the papers?" Emi asked, leading An and Mariko through the Shimokita district again.

"I have most of the papers signed; I only have one left to go."

"You mean you actually understood those sheets? I looked at them on the subway to Shimokita the other day… and I couldn't make heads of tails of it! I can see why you got all those academic awards."

"It's not that hard actually."

"Yeah, right," Emi waved the comment off. "It's not hard, she says! Geez, only if you had a dictionary with you."

"That's exactly what An had to do," Mariko laughed as An threw her an indignant look. "I saw you!"

"Ha! So, An isn't all smart!" Emi laughed as well.

"What's Bear up too?" Mariko asked, not using his real name out in public, which would sure draw heads in their direction.

"Him? The old man's got a deadline today. He said he'd meet up with us at the café around six."

"OK, sounds good. What stores do you plan on hitting today?"

Emi grinned, latching onto An's hand. "Clothes Shopping! You need some new clothes, badly." She laughed, dragging An in the direction of the nearest clothing store.

"But I think the ones I have!" An protested, digging her heels into the pavement.

"There so baggy though!" Emi replied. "You need to have female clothes to show off what you have!"

"But I don't want to!" An muttered, her protests falling short as Emi dragged her into the clothing store.

Mariko laughed, following the two into the store. "It'll be fun An, you don't have to buy anything, anyways."

"Yes she does. She can't where those – or your – clothes forever. Unless… An's going back to her house to get all her stuff back…" Emi trailed off, casting a look in An's direction.

"Well, I'd like my stuff back… but, I don't want to go back alone/"

The two nodded. "Hey, well why don't you just get Bear to go back with you?" Emi asked, flicking through a clothes rack for anything that might fit An.

"I guess." An muttered.

"You guess? Oh c'mon An, just go in there and go: 'hey old man! I want my stuff'!" Emi laughed. "That's what I'd do."

"I don't know… you know what her father is like, right?" Mariko asked, looking pointedly over in Emi's direction.

Emi nodded. "I know, but I'd still do it. You know, with back up."

"You watch too many spy movies."

"There the best kind though!" She laughed, draping another piece of clothing over her arm. "But seriously, you should go. Ask Bear to go with you, can I come too, though?"

Mariko grinned, looking from An to Emi. "Emi, you should stay home, you're too AWOL to understand these things."

"Mari! You're no fun!" Sakura whined.

Emi shrugged, winking. "No, I think it's you."

"Just try on your clothes."

"See! I told you An, she's no fun!" Laughing, Emi turned on her heel to find the closest dressing room.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"You sure you want to do this?" Ryo asked, looking up at the looming brown apartment building.

An nodded from his side. "I can do this."

"There you go!" Emi shouted, pushing An from the back, making her stumble.

An shot Emi a look. "Don't do that!"

Emi just laughed. "You're all way to serious! You got to lighten up!"

"I told you, you should have stayed home," Mariko muttered from Emi elbow. "This isn't a fun trip."

Emi shrugged, rolling her eyes as a grin graced her features. "I have to meet the man who caused our little An to run into all of us." An awkward laugh went through the small group of four.

"OK, let's get this over with," An said, taking a deep breath. "I can do this."

A hand fell onto her shoulder. "We're right behind you."

An nodded, looking up at Ryo. "I know," She said, taking a step forward, slipping her key into the apartment complex's door. "Right this way." An opened the door, taking her key out of the door in the process, before going inside, the door closing behind her.

"So what floor do you live on?" Emi asked, looking around the drab little apartment building. "This is kind of a fixer-upper building, no?" The flooring was all chipped and around the walls' trim, Emi could see small clumps of dust building up, and the small bit of red carpet inside the door to catch mud off of people's shoes, the carpet looked black now. Didn't the superintendent ever clean the floor, or even hire someone to do it? "…Does it always look like this?"

An cast a look around the small hallway leading to the intersection of apartments and the elevator. "This is actually a good day."

"A good day! What the heck does it look like on a bad day?" Emi asked, quickening her steps to catch up with An.

"Well, the last time I was here, there was a spider on the ceiling, the carpet was non-existent and it was in need of a real bad paintjob."

Emi nodded, casting another look around. "I see… it looks a little better, I suppose."

An smiled, laughing. "Yeah, I know, some awesome apartment, eh?" She stopped at the intersection of the apartment building, and pushed the 'up' button for the elevator. "And to answer your question, I live on the third floor."

Emi nodded, and the elevator dinged off as it reached the first floor and its' doors sprung open. The four piled into the elevator and An hit the button for the third floor, and the doors slammed shut. Silence engulfed the elevator as all four occupants, no matter how well they knew each other, went silent. The silence was broken when the ding of the elevator went off, and the doors sprung open letting them out.

"Why is it that every time people get in the elevator, people always go so silent? It used to be like that when my parents and I lived in an apartment." Emi frowned, turning left to follow An down the corridor.

"It's just etiquette."

"It may be, but we all know each other! Why were we all so silent?"

An laughed, casting a look over her shoulder. "Why were you so silent, Emi? You're talking a lot now, why not in there?"

Emi faltered, not knowing what to say. "Well… uh… same reason you all weren't!"

Mariko laughed at the two's argument. "We'll talk all the way down, how about that Emi?"

Emi turned to look at Mariko. "That's a deal!" She then turned to An. "Which one's yours?"

"This one," An stated, stopping in front of a door, with the numbers 324 and the name 'Shouji' scribbled under it. She fished a key out of her pocket, and had it hovering over the keyhole. "This is it." Yet, the key in her hand didn't move.

"You can do it An! We're right here!" Emi grinned, bounding up to An and clasping a hand onto her shoulder, while putting her other hand into a fist. "It's four od us and one of him, we can't lose!"

Ryo shook his head. "Emi, you expect to fight him… in his house. More or less, we're just intruders following An."

Emi shot him a look. "Oh, come off it Bear! An invited us, we're not strangers!"

"Ryo is right though… if we do any harm, he could do something… and he thinks An's still unconscious." Mariko said, always the level-headed one.

"Maybe you guys should stay out here then," An said, courage taking over as she plunged the key into the keyhole and turning it. "I'm used to this; my father doesn't scare me anymore."

An pushed the door open, the light from the hallway seeping into the darkened hall. She sighed, all the lights were out in the apartment, this would be easy!

"It's so dark in there… is he in there?" Emi asked, peeking around An's shoulders.

"Probably knocked out… spent another night at the tavern," An shrugged, venturing into the darkened apartment. "Since he's knocked out, I'll only be a few minutes' tops." She smiled, pulling the door to behind her.

Emi blinked at the door. "We just can't let her do this on her own! I don't trust him… especially if he's drunk!"

"I don't either," Mariko sighed from beside her, worry etched on her face. "But we have to follow her wishes, right?"

Emi got a devious look on her face. "That's a good idea Mariko!"

Mariko blinked, looking at her. "What'd I say?"

"We have to follow her wishes… but she didn't say to wait outside, so let's go in. I am!" Emi grinned, pushing the door open and bounding inside.

Mariko shook her head, but followed after Emi as well. "Wait for me!"

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

An fumbled her way through the darkness of her bedroom, she hadn't been here for the past nine months and had forgotten most of the layout. She had her duffle bag filed with things she needed like clothing, and she had another bag with her that she was filling with stuff she couldn't leave behind such as her book collection, her photos and other prized things she loved. Making her way through the room, she had surprised herself that she hadn't woken her father up yet, as she had made a lot of noise on her entry into her extra messy bedroom.

Picking up her favourite book, she heard her bedroom door hit the wall as it was pushed open. An flinched at the sound, spinning around on her heel. "I told you guys to stay – Father!" An yelled, caught off guard.

"I see your awake you little wench." He said, staggering into the bedroom.

An looked fiercely at him, not budging. "I'm not afraid of you anymore." She said calmly. "I came here to get my stuff, I'm leaving. I've been adopted and you'll never see me again."

Her father said nothing, but pushed at the bedroom door with his foot, the door just coming too. "How can you be adopted? You're my daughter; I never put you up for adoption, did I?"

"The Hospital did it… they said you weren't fit to take care of me. You tried to unplug me when I was unconscious… you were unstable." She said evenly, slipping the book into her bag. "I am not staying with a killer like you. Someone I met from The World will take me in; they already signed the adoption papers. I'm not your property anymore!"

"The World? That game you bought against my wishes! I knew that wretched game would get you in trouble one day." He yelled, coming closer to her.

An could smell the alcohol on him, he must still be a tad drunk, she figured. She skirted away from him, climbing over her bed to get away from him. "It's not trouble; it was an escape from you!"

"Witch!" He shouted, launching himself over the bed.

Before An could react, her father slammed into her chest, making her stagger backwards and into the wall. "I'm your father, damn it. You follow MY rules."

The door to An's bedroom moved a little, as a brunette appeared in the doorway. "What's taking so long… An?" Emi looked between An and her father. "Ah, you must be Mr. Shouji!" Emi said loudly for Mariko to hear, and she heard the sound of the wheelchair making its' way back down the hallway.

"And who the hell are you?" An's father asked, staggering around to get a good look at the new arrival.

"The name's Emi." She said monotone as she glared across the room at the man, arms across her chest. She cast a glance over to An, who was picking herself off the floor. "C'mon An, we're going to be late."

An shook her head at Emi. "Get out of here, I can handle him, I –"

Emi shook her head, her hands balling up into fists. "Shut up An! I'm your friend, and I'm – we're – all here for you, stop saying you can handle everything yourself!"

An's father smirked at Emi, then looked back at An. "Already pushing your friends away? See… you're just like me…"

"I'm nothing like you."

An shifted her bag on her shoulders, not breaking her gaze with her father. She glared at him one last time before turning on her heel to face Emi, who stared at her, eyebrow's raised.

"You ready to go yet?"

An nodded. "Yeah," In an undertone, she added; "I was a fool to come here alone."

"That's where you're wrong, you know?" Emi placed a hand on An's shoulders, looking critically at her. "We all came with you. Besides, you, Subaru and Bear and I were all there for each other in The World, and the same goes for here!"

"Very touching, indeed," An's father drawled, making his way towards the two girls. "Now, An come here and stop this foolishness."

An just glared at her father, not removing her gaze from his. "No, I'm leaving; I have real friends' – and a family – now."

"An? Emi? Are you guys done in here yet?" A male's voice asked, as footsteps were heard coming down the hallway.

Soon two more people appeared in the doorway, a hand falling onto her shoulders. An cast a glance up, as Ryo appeared at her side, Mariko falling in on the other side of Emi.

"Yeah, I'm ready, we were just finishing up here," An said, her tone a very solid voice, no hesitation could be found there. "Goodbye father." She quickly turned on her heel, and took off down the hallway.

Emi and Mariko looked at each other, to Ryo, An's father and at An's retreating back, before nodding solidly and following after An. Ryo cast one look at the three retreating girls before looking over at where An's father still stood, hands balled into fists.

"What did you do?"

An's father cast a glance up at the man before him, his eyes narrowing. "Are you this adoptive parent the girl was rambling on about?"

Ryo looked at the man passively, nodding slowly. "That's me, so An told you, huh?"

An's father nodded, looking from the man to the floor underneath. "Take care of her, ok?"

Ryo nodded to his statement, before leaving the room after the three girls, leaving An's father in what used to be his daughters room – now stripped of everything she had held very valuable to her.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

A/N: And that's part two folks! One more part to go, and this is the end. I think, unless anyone has any ideas after the next chapter is released. See you for the next chapter!

02/21/05


	3. 03: New Life

Facing The Devil

---

An sighed, flopping back onto her mattress in her green bedroom. What could be better? After that small fiasco at her dad's house when she attempted to get her stuff back, her life became _perfect_. It was exactly what she had wanted. After that, she had gone back to Ryo's apartment and signed the rest of the adoption papers that needed her signature. She grinned, that had to have been the best moment.

"All you have to do is sign these papers, and you'll no longer be legally attached to your father anymore." Ryo had said, holding out a pen. "But it is your choice, you don't have to sign these papers."

Like it took any thought at all. She reached out a hand, grabbing the pen. With a final grin, An put the pen onto the paper, signing her name on the lines that were empty. As she did this, she felt herself being liberated. She was no longer attached to her father, but too someone who would actually care about her and treat her with respect.

_I'm finally free, she thought, putting the pen back down onto the table._

_She had successfully managed to rid herself of her father and find someone that cared for it… and all it took… was to become **trapped** in The World._

_**Ironic**, isn't it?_

Soon after she had signed the papers and Ryo had taken them into the adoption agency for them to file it legally away, her stuff started to arrive at Ryo's apartment. One by one, the boxes would start to come in. There would _three_ one day, and _ten_ the next. It looked like her father was glad to be rid of her too. She grinned melodramatically at that, if that was the case, then both her and her father had rid themselves of the one thing that they didn't want in life. After all the boxes had been delivered to the small apartment, Ryo had decided that the apartment was too small for them and all of there things. With the amount of money Ryo had made as a writer, and never spent, they had more of enough to move out of the small, dingy apartment and into their own home.

An had gotten to decorate her bedroom on her own, in any way she liked. She had painted the bedroom a light green colour, and had pictures and all her books lining the wall. She had gotten her own computer too, and it always hummed in the corner, the mouse always hovering over the icon to log into The World. She still used the avatar of Tsukasa; it was just too weird to start all over again. Ryo had enrolled her at the same school that Emi and Mariko went too, so that was always a blast of fun too.

Boy, she sure did surprise the people at her old school when she went there to clean out her locker, Emi and Mariko on either side of her.

"_Well, well, if it isn't An Shoiji," A girl sneered as An made her way past her, her eyes locked on her lock. "Too bad you woke up out of that coma, life was easier without you around."_

_An_ _just smiled sarcastically at her, pushing her way past her and over to her locker. "I **really don't care** what you think, Alina. I could probably care less if I tried. I no longer go here, so what you think simply doesn't matter."_

_  
Alina blinked, An was talking back? But, that wouldn't deter her, she always had a snappy comeback, it must have just been a fluke that An had. "What did you get kicked out of school?"_

"_Nope," An replied, turning the dial on her locker. "I got accepted into the Junon High School, way better then here. Shame, you have to stay here."_

_Alina's_ _jaw fell, how the heck did she get into that school? You had to have about a ninety average to get into that school, or else they wouldn't even look at your application. She went to voice her yet again, snappy comeback, when another voice broke in. _

"_Well, if you must know," The voice drawled, leaning on the locker beside An's. Alina glared at the brown haired girl, who the heck was that? "An's got like a ninety point average. You'd know that, but… oh wait, all you ever did was bother her."_

"_Who are you? You don't go here, you're trespassing." Alina shouted, pointing a finger at the brown haired girl. "I could have you arrested!"_

_The girl just smirked and shrugged, unfazed by the threat. "I don't really care. I came here with An, I'm with her, so I doubt it's a problem. Right An?"_

_An_ _nodded, leave it to Emi to start a fight! She was almost as bad as BlackRose, it was kind of freaky, they **looked** and **acted** the same in The World, and yet they had never met. That screamed freaky. _

"_Now, now Emi," A blue haired girl spoke up, shaking her head. "You know you have to be nicer to An's friends."_

Emi laughed, throwing her head back before throwing a glance at the bespectacled, blue haired girl. "That's a good joke Mariko! An… friend… with her; **HA!**" Emi grinned, throwing a look at Alina, who was standing awkwardly at the side. "Oh, you never get teased do you? Well, you have now." Emi chirped, grinning a big smile at the putout green haired girl.

_Alina_ _just glared at the three of them, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Just watch out, An's a class A act, such a pretender, aren't you? She'll just stab you in the back."_

_Emi shrugged, walking over to the green haired girl, throwing a hand around her shoulders like they were old friends. "If An **does** stab us in the back, **we'll** just stab her too." _

_Alina_ _stopped, looking wide-eyed at the brunette standing beside her. However, she quickly regained her posture, shooting Emi a look. "You two suit each other then, you're both evil brats."_

"_You got it," Emi said, poking a finger at her. "We're all evil, and **three of a kind**. Mess with one, you get us all." Emi laughed, marching back over to Mariko and An. _

_Mariko shook her head at Emi's actions. "Emi, do you always have to get into a fight?"_

_Emi just shrugged, shoving her hands into her coat pockets. "Che, it makes life more interesting. Admit it Mari, you'd be bored to tears without me and my **amazing** personality." Emi stuck a pose to make her point more clear. _

_An_ _laughed, slamming her locker door. "That's our little Emi, always causing a fight and leaving us to solve the problem."_

_Emi grinned, flashing them a toothy grin and a peace sign. "See, I knew you two would be a wreck without me. Now Mari," Emi said, all serious, looking over at Mariko. "What do you have to say to me? An said something nice."_

_Mariko scoffed, a gleam in her eye as she looked at Emi. "You're the worst Heavy Blade ever and your avatar is **tacky**."_

_Emi glared at her, her hands coming into fists, laughing all the time. "That hurt Mari! If you weren't in a wheelchair I'd knock you so hard."_

_Mariko laughed, her hands coming up in fake defence. "I'm so scared Emi, you don't have your virtual blade here, so I think I'm safe."_

"_Che, better not log on tonight."_ _Emi._

"_You sound like Sora." An._

"_You do actually." Mariko._

"_Emi, you worship a fourth grader… talk about a stalker." An._

"_Eew!_ _Sora? Are you insane?" Emi._

"_Denial is the first step to admiration." Mariko._

"_Stop reciting fortune cookies to me!" Emi._

"_It wasn't a fortune cookie, it was from our English book." An._

"_Ohhh… well I wasn't paying attention." Emi._

"_You **never** do." Mariko._

Needless to say, they always had an interesting time when they would go out somewhere. Emi would either say or do something really silly or dumb, her and Mariko would try to calm the situation over and calm Emi down, Emi would then say something and they would all poke fun at each other. That was just the way that they worked, silly and goofy one moment, sane the next. Emi claimed their personalities changes so much because of what they ate or drank. Emi was definitely a weird girl, always ready with a silly comment. Mariko had once stated that Emi had a book of silly, comical things to say, and that's why Emi always slacked off at school; too busy trying to remember her silly comments. Emi denied it, saying they were lying, but who could ever believe Emi?

"An," Ryo's voice sounded from downstairs, as the doorbell rang soon after that. "Mariko and Emi are here."

An quickly shot off the bed, grabbing a purple sweater hanging on the back of the computer chair before rushing out of the bedroom. An's feet pounded down the stairs, landed on the ground level and rushed to the door as the bell sounded again.

"Finally!" came Emi's exasperated voice as An opened the door. "We thought you were ignoring us. I mean, hello! We are going out today.

An sighed, putting the sweater on, closing the door to the house behind her. "Nice to see you too, Emi."

Emi's face lit up. "I know; everyone's always glad to see me!" she chirped.

Mariko rolled her eyes. "Anyways, now that we've heard from the peanut gallery, ready to go An? The movie's going to start soon."

"You got it," An said, starting down the path to the sidewalk with Emi and Mariko. "What movie are we going to see today? Let's see if we can actually get there before it starts, eh?" An laughed, the last time they had walked to the theatre, they showed up twenty minutes into. To say the least they were lost for the whole movie.

"Hey! I'm not a peanut! Take that back Mariko!"

Mariko grinned, sticking her tongue out at Emi. "No, I don't want to, you know it's true."

Emi growled at her, eyes narrowed. "Damn you and your wheelchair, I'd love to hit you."

Mariko sighed. "You always say that, you need a new line."

"Yeah Emi," An chirped in. "Forget that silly comment book you have, you need one for comebacks."

"Ha, ha, you guys are so funny." Emi muttered, laughing.

"We know." Came An and Mariko's response.

---

"Hey An," Emi said, poking An in the back as they waited in the ticket line at the theatre. An turned around, hand in her pocket, looking quizzically at Emi. "Isn't that your dad?"

An followed Emi's extended arm, Mariko looking around, interested as well. An's eyes fell on the man that Emi was pointing too; it was her father. He was with another woman as well, a child no more then nine following them around. An looked at the three with passive eyes, before shaking her head, smiling at Emi.

"Nope, that's not my dad. He's at home working on his next novel."

Mariko grinned, squeezing An's hand before moving up to get her movie ticket. Emi grinned, slinging an arm around An's shoulders, leading her after Mariko up the line. "Good answer."

………

_And that was the way it was between the three of us; my real father didn't exist anymore, and after that time at the movie theatre, I never saw him again. I heard that he got married to her within the year and moved away from Shimokita… I think that they moved to Tokyo. Good riddance I say, it's easier to live a normal life when your pain isn't walking around in the same city. Life went back to normal, going to school with my friends, hanging out at the mall and theatre, doing normal teenager stuff. This life is good for now, and I hope it will stay like this forever._

_But, sometimes you have to learn to live within the moment and not worry about the past and the future_

………

"An! Come on! What are you thinking about?" Emi yelled, holding the door to the movie theatre open, as Mariko wheeled herself inside. "It's already started, get a move on!"

An grinned, snapping out of her thoughts, following after Emi and Mariko. "Wait for me! I don't want to sit by myself."

Emi laughed, letting go of the door, before grabbing it again. "You know we wouldn't do that, we can't be the three musketeers without you."

An grinned, entering into the movie theatre, the door closing behind Emi.

_The closing of the door **symbolized** two things; the closing doors on her old life and the opening of a door of many opportunities **and** a happy life at that… _

**A**/**N; **. .

So that's the end of the story  
I hope ya'll liked it!  
To any mistakes in it,

I wrote it at school

_Ha_, I should have been doing other stuff

I'm such a **slacker**!

Not really, but oh well.


End file.
